Product Description

Whad'Ya Know? is a party game based on Michael Feldman's hilarious public radio quiz show. Earn points by guessing the answers to outrageous questions based on general knowledge, and opinion polls. In each round, a new host poses a question and lively debate follows as players attempt to pick the right answer. Guess right and win!

Tune in to Whad' Ya Know? for any get-together with family and friends.

Product Reviews

I’ve never heard of Michael Feldman’s show, but that didn’t
stop me
from being interested in a party game from Out
of the Box Publishing
(Apples to
Apples, anyone?). Whad’Ya Know (Out of the Box Publishing,
2004 - John
Kovalik) is a party game based on the popular public radio
show. I did some internet research and found that Whad' Ya
Know is a
comedy/quiz show; and listening to clips of it, it did sound
pretty
funny. This made for a promising game.

Unfortunately, I recently played Wits and Wagers,
by Eagle
Games.
Both that game and Whad'Ya Know have the same basic premise
- just how
much do your friends know about a specific subject? Wits
and Wagers
was easier, more fun, and simply just a better game. This
doesn’t
mean that Whad'Ya Know is a bad game, but the humor from the
show
doesn’t come packaged in the box; and while the game is fun,
it’s
simply a nominal party game. I enjoyed my playings of it
but don’t
feel a great need to play it again. I WILL say that the
price is
good; the game covers up to ten people, and it will teach
you a bunch
of useless facts.

Each player is given a set of answer cards marked “A”,
“B”, and “C”.
One player is selected to be host and given the Michael Feldman
Bobblehead, and the box of quiz cards. The first round is
ready to begin...

In each round, the players to the right and left of the
host are the
“contestants”. The host draws a quiz card and reads a
question that
has three answers. (ie. “What percent of leftovers in
doggie bags
actually make it to a doggie?” A. 13%, B: 27%, C: 39%) All
other
players who are not the contestants or hosts pick the answer
that
matches and play their corresponding answer card face down. All
answer cards are revealed, and the other players (the
“audience”) try
to persuade folks to pick their answer. Contestants then
talk to the
audience and each other and then each select an answer card
of their
choice. The host reads the correct answer to everyone and
awards
points that are given out in the form of scoring chips.
- Everyone who picks the correct answer, whether contestant or
audience, receives one point.
- If both contestants have picked the correct answer, they
both get
one bonus chip as well as any audience member who also
picked that answer.
- If both contestants have picked the same incorrect answer,
then each
audience member who picked that answer gets a point.

The player to the left of the host and all the positions
change,
including that of the contestants, for the next round. Play
continues
until one player receives a certain amount of scoring chips
(ten to
sixteen, depending on the number of players). That player
is then the
winner! In case of a tie, a special Tie Breaker segment is
played, in
which questions are guessed until all of the tied players
but one are
eliminated.

Some comments on the game...

1.) Components: The box is a long, thin, sturdy one,
with cartoonish
artwork of Mr. Feldman decorating the light blue background.
The
cards are of good quality, with the same blue and purple
artwork on
them. The chips are simply purple tiddly-winks and are
functional, if
a bit small. Of course, the most striking component is the
bobble-headed Michael Feldman. Now, I’m not sure what the
big draw of
bobble-heads are, or why I would be interested in one of a
radio talk
show host; but if that’s what you’re interested in, here you
go! I
will admit that it is certainly the most unique game piece
I’ve seen
in some time, and a friend of mine modified the one in my
game so that
it looks slightly like myself, and it now sits on my desk,
rather
than in the game. All of the components fit inside a nice
custom-sized plastic insert in the box.

2.) Rules: The game is extremely easy to learn from the
six pages of
rules, which also include a decent amount of information
about Michael
Feldman’s radio show, and some humorous disclaimers. The
rules are
easy to teach (typical of OOTB games), and I’ve had no
problem even
teaching the game to youngsters, although they don’t always
understand
the questions and/or the humor.

3.) Questions: When it comes to the questions, I
usually had no clue
as to which answer was correct. And when I say no clue, I
mean that I
was rarely even able to make the slightest educated guess.
Take the
question I used in my description of the rules, about
"doggie bags".
Since I almost never even take a doggie bag (I eat all my
food) and
don’t own a dog, the question hasn’t come up in my life. So
I can
guess, but that’s all it is - a guess. Now, I know that
this is the
way the game is supposed to work, but many of the people I
played with
complained that they would have liked to have some inkling
of at least
a few of the questions. It’s hard to bluff and convince
someone that
you know the right answer, when everyone knows you don’t.

4.) Bluffing: But even though it is hard to bluff, it isn’t
impossible; and the players who can most make the other players
believe that they have some idea of the answer will have a great
advantage. Players who are lucky guessers will be the
winners in many
cases, but it doesn’t hurt to get those extra points on the
way.

5.) Wits and Wagers: I hate to compare two games; but
Wits and
Wagers is very similar to Whad'Ya Know, because both games
ask players
to make an educated guess. Wits and Wagers is in a much
bigger box
and is certainly more expensive, which might tip the scales
towards
Whad'Ya Know in many cases. However, when those two
considerations
are not taken into account, I must say that I enjoy Wits and
Wagers
quite a bit more. It doesn’t force players to pick between
three
answers but allows them to make up their own answers. The
questions
also deal with topics that one or more players most likely
will have a
decent knowledge about; Whad'Ya Know’s questions are much more
obscure. If money is no object, I would recommend Wits and
Wagers.

6.) Fun Factor: There are some moments in the game, in
which one
player manages to convince both contestants to follow their
incorrect
answer that are quite funny. And the questions are often
interesting,
and debate can often follow them up. The game can be fun in
the right
circumstances, and in no way am I stating that it's a bad
game. I
just think that it would have been better if Mr. Feldman had
come
packaged in the box, rather than just his bobblehead.
So should you purchase this game? Well, if you're a fan of
the radio
show - certainly! If you're looking for a game in which you
can guess
at obscure facts and have a chance of winning, with a smidgen of
bluffing thrown in, then perhaps this is the game for you. For
myself, while I enjoyed my games, I've found that other
party games,
and most especially Wits and Wagers, do the same thing in a
better and
more fun way. Try this one before you buy it.

Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"

Other Resources for Whad'Ya Know?:

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